Fourteen-month-old Gianna Hess is one in a million. Only about 300 hundred Americans are diagnosed with hepablastoma each year. Gianna is one of them.
Just a few short weeks ago, Coach Travis Hess was on the sidelines coaching basketball and in the classroom teaching math. Then, on a weekend afternoon, just after Hess was named District Coach of the year, he received the news.
“Life seemed like it was perfect. But that afternoon, I was told that my daughter probably had cancer,” Hess said. “Now my only goal has nothing to do with coaching or teaching; it’s to get my daughter healthy.”
A mass was found on Gianna’s liver; ever since then, Hess and his wife Suzanne have been devoting their time to helping their daughter fight.
Now staying at Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital, Gianna is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments. She may soon find her way back to Fairfax for daily visits to the pediatric ward in order to lessen the emotional and financial exhaustion of travel.
As doctors in Philadelphia have begun treatment, the outlook is positive.
“There is no guarantee of a full recovery but we have a plan in place. We’re hopeful that it will work. Most of the time it does,” Hess said.
As the Hess family goes through this difficult time, outreach from Langley High School and Suzanne Hess’s school, John Adams, have provided hope and aid in recent days.
“They have been tremendous. I have met the communities from both schools. A lot of people have reached out to me,” Hess said. “I know my wife’s school was collecting money for gift cards and gas cards since we will be traveling back in forth from Philadelphia a lot. A lot of people at Langley have been asking what they could do.”
Hess noted that as the process has gone underway, his family’s lifestyle and outlook has changed vastly.
“I’m probably ten times more religious than I was three weeks ago,” Hess said. “We have moments when we cry and moments when we laugh, that’s just the reality.”
The Science Honor Society is dedicating their spring blood drive to Gianna and her family with a “princess” and “pink” theme. There are also talks of donating the proceeds of the 3-on-3 basketball tournament, to be held in early March, to Gianna’s cause.
As Hess and his family continue on, they only ask that you keep them in your prayers and help rally around Gianna’s fight against cancer.
Students from Langley, like senior Andrew Spivey, wait in hopeful anticipation for Coach Hess’s triumphant return.
“Coach Hess is one of the most genuine people I have ever met,” Spivey said. “It’s a tragedy that has an effect on all of us because we love Coach Hess so much.”
Hess added, “One of the hardest parts is that you look at Gianna and she’s so perfect and beautiful and she has no idea what she’s about to go through.”
Gianna and the Hess family have a website where you can read her story and send a message of support. Also, to make a donation to the Hess family click here.